The ability to accurately judge others has both practical and adaptive significance. Clinicians who accurately determine the personality and behavioral tendencies of their clients are in a better position to correctly diagnose psychopathology and to formulate an appropriate therapeutic program. Lay persons who accurately judge the personalities of strangers, friends, and loved ones will be in a better position to formulate adaptive behavioral responses than individuals who misread their social environment. This proposal describes a program of research that will (a) assess individual differences in the ability to accurately judge others, (b) determine the personality characteristics associated with good and poor judgmental ability and (c) determine the interpersonal and adaptive consequences of being a good or bad judge of personality. The criteria to assess judgmental accuracy include self- reports of personality, ratings of personality provided by friends and parents, and behavior ratings from several different situations. The ultimate goals of this project are to understand the antecedents and consequences ofjudgmental ability, and to discover and implement techniques to improve judgmental ability.